STUDENTS learned the bare necessities of opera when they met the cast of a show yesterday.

Performing arts students from Sunderland University joined the cast of The Bear, by Naked Opera, as they rehearsed for last night's performance.

The show, at Sunderland's Bede Theatre, launched the university's 2002 Concerts on Campus season.

Glasgow-based Naked Opera was founded by singer Alison Barton from Sunderland.

The company aims to bring the best of opera to audiences while ensuring that they understand it.

A spokesman said: "The Bear, in English, 50 minutes long and very funny, is the ideal starting point for those new to opera, and last night was a chance for fans to see a rarely performed classic by William Walton, to celebrate the centenary of the English composer's birth.